February 28th, 2012

Melbourne really is one of my favourite places to visit in Australia. A melting pot of culture, beauty, history, restaurants and shopping, it really is a city that has it all.

But it is the 2012 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival that brings thousands of people to Melbourne each year because it is fact that some of the countries best chefs and restaurants are in Melbourne – making it a culinary haven for any foodie.

I think one of the finest ways to enjoy this Food & Wine Festival is by indulging yourself at one of Victoria’s true landmarks. The famous Hotel Windsor is one of the world’s oldest grand hotels and the city’s choice as the destination for important events and celebrations for almost 130 years and it is serving a feast inspired by Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee banquet at Windsor Castle in 1887.

“Queen Victoria’s Feast” is part of the Festival’s Umbrella Events programme. A six-course banquet created by the hotel’s executive chef Jérôme Trémoulet, the feast will be a unique and modern take on what might have been served to British royalty more than 120 years ago.

“We sourced Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee menu and Jérôme has taken inspiration from that banquet, with all its Victorian-era flourishes, grandeur, heady spices and French flair that was so popular at that time, to produce a modern-day version of a truly spectacular feast that will be served with some outstanding French wines,” Hotel Windsor food & beverage director Michael Mangan said.

The dinner will be held in the hotel’s famed Grand Ballroom, with its seven original ceiling domes glazed with stained glass and gold leaf, on Friday, March 9.

The hotel also appears on the festival programme with a special high tea celebration. Renowned for its magnificent afternoon teas which it has served since opening in 1883, the hotel is offering a special “High tea With a Sip of Manners” as part of the festival.

Guests will enjoy the hotel’s traditional afternoon tea delights while learning everything they want and need to know about modern-day etiquette. The special afternoon tea will be held on March 16 and 17, with sittings at 1pm.

There is so much to enjoy when visiting Melbourne, and if you are there on the 9th of March for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Banquet – this is a must for you. But if you are after something equally as royal, but a little more relaxed, then be sure to book yourself in for a memorable after at High Tea With A Sip Of Manners.